The bank said it had built in a 2 percentage-point increase in the GST as a base case assumption, but the government surprised by delaying the increase to 2021 or later.

The second surprise behind the bank’s forecasts changes was the one-off income-based cash handout of S$100-S$300 for Singaporeans age 21 and older, for a total cost of S$700 million, Credit Suisse said. It noted the exact timing of the payouts wasn’t yet certain.